LINDENHURST - A bus driver got several middle school children to safety yesterday after their bus broke down in the middle of a railroad crossing.

A bus carrying Lindenhurst Middle School students got stuck on the railroad tracks on Straight Path in Lindenhurst. The students tell News 12 Long Island the engine just stopped, but the driver quickly got the kids off the bus – as a train came toward them.

The kids only know him as Ed the bus driver, but he’s being hailed a hero for his actions.

“I saw headlights,” says Toni Panzer. “I almost cried ‘cause I thought I was going to get hit. But I didn't because Ed saved everybody.”

News 12 Long Island called Baumann, the bus company for Lindenhurst, but it did not want to talk about the ordeal. The parents and students in Lindenhurst, however, want Ed to know how thankful they are to him.